House Rules
by savinglives44
Summary: AU Season 1 Sequel to Roommate Rules. Cuddy's pregnant and House is the reluctant father. The pregnancy puts a strain on their brand-new relationship.
1. Primary Theme

**You might want to read the prequel to this, Roommate Rules or else some of this exposition won't make sense. I'll try to sum up as best as I can. Okay. So, House and Cuddy were living together and sleeping together, and then she hired him and moved out. They were planning on being in a relationship as soon as they got settled in their jobs. And then we pick up here... It's been 2 weeks since she hired him and they last slept together.**

**House Rules**

Primary Theme

House burst through the doors of Cuddy's office. "I hate them all. They're stupid." He was talking about his new employees- black dude, blondie, and Aussie. He didn't know why she had insisted on him hiring anyone. She did most of the hiring anyway. And he didn't need them. All they did was give him wrong diagnoses.

She was reading some paperwork and glared at him. "They are all qualified for this job."

"They slow me down." He leaned over and gripped the edge of her desk. He hadn't gotten this close to her in weeks and it was driving him insane.

"They help you." She slowly put down the papers that she had in her hand. "You didn't come in to talk about your new employees anyway."

"Guilty." She was completely right. He was glad that she'd caught on so quickly. He did relish the opportunity to complain about his new shadows, but getting laid was much more important at the moment. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. "It's been two weeks since we started working here."

"So?" She looked back down at the papers again.

She knew what he was hinting at, yet she was avoiding him. He didn't take it as a good sign. He let his fingers pinch his chin and feel the stubble there. "You said that we could get back together after we'd been working here for a while."

"Oh." She blushed. Clearly, she'd thought about it and she felt guilty. "I need more time."

It was a cliched answer that meant that she didn't want to be with him. Every day, he'd been counting down the days until he'd talk to her about this and he'd been preparing himself for this moment, when she said no. It still sucked. "So you changed your mind. Got it." He moved slightly, like he was going to leave, but didn't fully stand up, wanting her to stop him.

"Wait." She pushed back on her chair and rose up to her feet. "That's not what I said." She walked over to the windows in her office and shut all the blinds. It took her a few minutes, but when they were all firmly closed, she stepped close to him and put her hands on his chest. "I just need a little longer. I need to secure my place here."

"It's secure." She was making excuses. His frustration with her was betrayed by his body as he took a step closer to her and wrapped her hands around her waist. He could feel the extent of every breath she took. "Don't lie to me. You're hesitating because of me."

"We shouldn't be talking about this at work." She eyed the doors to her office. He felt her ribs begin to contract and expand much quicker.

"Stop it." She kept evading him, and he wasn't going to let her get away. Either they were going to be together or they weren't, and he wanted an answer now. "What are you really thinking?" He wanted to kiss her- her lips, her cheek, her neck, anything, but figured it would be unfair to suade her based on passion.

She didn't say anything at first, just pressed her ear against his chest. At least she wasn't withdrawing from him. He lifted his hands to her elbows, and then pressed his forearms against her back, holding her in place.

After a minute, she started talking, "I'm scared," she admitted, whispering fiercely. "I'm afraid that you've lost interest in me. I don't want things to go back to the way they were before. I'm afraid that we can't keep this working relationship in balance if I get involved with you. I'm afraid the board will find out. Two weeks is still so new..Most of all, I'm afraid of what you're thinking." She sighed and squeezed his shirt, letting the fabric thread through her fingers.

He nodded, and thought about his response. He wanted to sound like he had listened to her, like he wasn't completely narcississtic. "That's a lot of fear. We need to grow you a backbone." Or a thicker skin, like he had.

"I have a backbone," she claimed. "I'm just tired with work and everything. It's catching up to me." She seemed sincere, but he couldn't decide if she was trying to look so haggard, or if she really was so stressed out.

"It's never too late to face your fears, Cuddy." He leaned forward, so his face was closer to hers. He remembered that she was afraid of what he was thinking, and she really shouldn't be. Unless she was coming to her senses and knew how dangerous a relationship with him could be. Either way, he wanted to relieve her of her fears or at least the fear of the unknown. "I'm thinking...about you. A lot. Because we said that being apart again was not an option for us, that this separation was only temporary. It doesn't feel temporary." Being honest with her felt so unnatural. It almost made him sick, but he was getting better at it. He had to constantly remind himself that he had tried the other way- not being with her, lying- and it had failed.

"I don't even know how I would be in a relationship with you. I'm so used to what we had before." She spoke so softly. Her lips were almost pink and he didn't know if it was her lip gloss or if they were just naturally like that. He ducked his head and inhaled the scent of her face.

She was so used to his sleeping around, not caring about what she wanted. He wasn't so keen on the idea of having to show her how he felt about her, but he figured it was necessary to keep her in his life. "How about dinner? We can go out?"

She turned her head away from his and stared at the pile of paperwork on her desk. "I really shouldn't."

"Cuddy." He said, firmly. He wasn't going to take any of this bullshit or her playing around, especially when she wanted him. He knew she did.

"Okay. We can grab a quick bite to eat." She tore herself away from his arms and it was almost painful. "I have to get stuff done now."

He grabbed her arms and kissed her quickly before she could move too far away. Yep, lip gloss. He licked it off his lips. He watched her as she sat down in her chair. She moved her hips from side to side, trying to get comfortable and put her arms on the desk. Her fingers came up to press into her temples.

"Headache?" He asked. From him, likely. He hadn't exactly been easy to get along with the past few weeks, but she had been trying his patience. He wanted her the day that they'd had sex in the bar, and she was depriving him.

"Yep." She didn't look up. "Just tired." It crossed his mind that she was deprived as well.

"Well, get untired. I'd like to have sex again sometime before I die."

She shot him a fake, half-second smile. He was unsatisfied, but he left her like that.

* * *

"Ready to go?" He asked her, sauntering. He'd paced outside for about twenty minutes, deciding how to approach her and predicting how their date would go. It wouldn't kill him to take her out...once. Past this date, they were just going to have pizza in his apartment.

"Yes." She smiled at him and he could tell she was trying to be more pleasant. "Just let me grab my coat." She picked it up from her coat rack. She lowered her voice. "I think we should drive separately, just in case someone sees us leave together."

"But you don't know where we're going!" He complained. There was hardly anyone in the hospital anyway and he was sure they could come up with an excuse for driving together.

"You could tell me, and then I'd know," She suggested, as they exited her office. She locked the door.

They walked to the parking lot. "I am all for having a stealthy relationship. Secrets are sexy...but this is just annoying." The first woman he'd loved in a while, and he had to keep it a secret. He wanted everyone who hated him would know that he was loved. He supposed that Wilson and Sam knowing was enough for now.

"At least we can be together at your apartment." She subtly hooked her arm in his until they got to his car.

"Just get in the car, Cuddy." He wanted to drive her to their first date. It wasn't too much to ask, he thought. He was being chivalrous. This is how he planned it out.

"I'm taking mine." She headed off in the other direction, but slowly, like she wanted him to convince her to stay with him. More games, he thought, but he enjoyed persuading her as long as she eventually came to him.

"You can just ride with me in the morning."

"Yeah, like that's not suspicious at all," She said sarcastically. She backed away, her boots clicking on the hard concrete.

"I'll bring you back late tonight or early tomorrow." He didn't know what made him offer that, but he knew he'd do anything to get her in his car. He was slightly uncomfortable with how she'd changed him. Before, he'd never offer to do anything for his women. He wasn't used to compromising like this. He wanted it his way, no questions asked. He'd gotten off on that in the past, the power that he could have over women. Not with Cuddy. He liked her pushing his boundaries and he knew that losing her wasn't an option, but it was making him a little nervous.

"Okay." She came back to him. They both climbed into the car and buckled their seatbelts, and he pulled out of the parking lot.

"I'm sorry about all this stuff," she said softly, meaning the hiding and the secrecy. Evidently, she'd gotten the stick out of her ass that she'd had up there for the past two weeks. "I missed you and it's easier to not miss you when I'm frustrated with you about work."

"It's fine," he said, keeping his eyes on the road. He offered her his hand and she took it while he drove.

"All the hospital- business- politics...it drives me insane."

He could feel her watching him, but he didn't know what to say. He didn't share her affinity for following the rules, but he didn't want to be insensitive. So, he said nothing.

"I said I was sorry," she said, but her words seemed insincere when her voice sounded so pissed off.

"Didn't say I was mad," he retorted. He felt her hand twitched to withdraw from his, but he held onto it. "Here we are..."

She stared at the restaurant's name. Sakana. Sushi bar. "It's our first date and you're taking me to a sushi restaurant? What if I hate sushi?"

"You don't."

They both got out of the car and he locked it. She looked at him, perplexed, "How do you know that?"

"You have sushi every Monday for lunch. Or you had. I haven't seen you eat it since you became dean." He rushed up to the steps to hold the door open for her.

She shook her head and entered. "You're crazy. How the hell did you know that?"

"Ahhh." He followed her in. "That's for me to know and for you to never find out." Really, it was a combination of remembering what day she washed her chopsticks from home and noticing if she drank a lot of water because the salty soy sauce made her thirsty. "Anyway, this stuff is much better than the crap you buy from the grocery store." He went up to the waiter, "_Kappuru_."

"You speak Japanese?"

"A little." He curled his fingers around her arm as the waiter lead them to their table. She put her hand over his and peered around to see if she knew anyone. "Quit worrying," He told her. "This is where people bring someone they're dating that they don't want other people to know about." That wasn't at all true, but he could see that she half-believed him.

"Thanks." Cuddy rolled her eyes as the waiter pulled out her chair.

"What to drink?" The waiter asked.

House ordered them two sakes. He needed to loosen her up with a little alcohol.

"I don't want to drink!" Cuddy whined, scrunching her face up. "I have to work tomorrow."

"This is going to be less fun than I anticipated," he said without thinking. He guessed it wasn't the nicest thing to say, but she was the one being a grouch, so he didn't feel too bad.

She snapped back at him immediately, "Are you regretting this already?"

"Are you trying to make me?" He was unhappy with all of her anxiety and rules. She was supposed to be fun, like back when they were roommates.

She said nothing, just played with the tablecloth resting on her lap. He would not let himself feel guilty because she was the one making this relationship difficult. He looked forward to screwing her afterward. Whatever they lacked emotionally as a couple, they could always score in the bedroom.

The waiter was prompt with their sakes. He watched her take a sip and then make a face. "Ew. I don't want it." She pushed it towards him.

He sighed and pulled it to his side of the table. He took a couple of large swallows of his own drink. So, the sake was a flop, but she would love the sushi. He really had taken time to find a place that she would like. He didn't want to screw up, as much as it seemed like that. He took the paper that they used to order, and asked her, "Whaddya want?"

"California roll, please," She said, politely.

"That's it?" He laughed. He marked them down for the california rolls, 'dragonfire' sashimi, and a large sample platter of all the popular sushi rolls, and handed the paper to the waiter. "You'll be adventurous with your taste buds tonight," he told her.

She frowned. "I don't know. I haven't been feeling too well."

The way this was headed, their first date was looking like a failure. In this event, he wouldn't count this as their first date, but the time they first slept together at Michigan. "Maybe you just haven't eaten enough?"

"Or maybe it's my anxiety-ridden job." She took a sip of her water.

"Your job isn't worth it, then." He just wanted her to quit. This job was screwing everything up for them. He noticed the way she kept glancing around to watch for anyone they knew. "Stop worrying. No one is here."

"You don't know that." Her lips said she doubted him, but her eyes stopped wandering and he knew she trusted him. "My job is worth it. I've wanted this forever."

"You wanted to be a doctor, not an administrator." He threw back another mouthful of sake.

"It is better than I could have imagined," She seemed to be trying to convince herself.

"It is making you sick." He deemed her too stubborn to change her mind in one night, but he knew if he kept working on it, she would fold.

"It's just the first couple of weeks that are so stressful." He felt her leg rub against his under the table. "It'll get better."

He thought that she was lying to herself, but he couldn't tell her that. He reached down and grasped her knee and brought her foot into his lap. He released the buckle on the strappy sandal she was wearing and took off her shoe. He ran his fingers over the indentations that the shoe had created. His palms skimmed over her skin, followed by the tips of his fingers. He didn't massage her, just touched her.

He looked up at her.

"Foot fetish?" She laughed.

"No." He continued with his light brushes, almost tickling her foot. "Just wanted to touch you." Somewhat of a lie. He knew he could arouse her if he focused on one of the most overworked parts of her.

He was right. She laid back in her chair and relaxed. She gave him a big smile, bigger than he's seen in, well, about two weeks. The date was looking up. "Okay. Just don't stop." It wasn't long before her foot rubbed against his thigh. He widened his knees and her toe circled over his crotch.

He caught her foot. Already, he could feel his blood rushing through his body and it all was shooting straight to his groin. It was like he'd seen an oasis after dying of thirst for a few weeks. He contemplated leaving before they'd even gotten their food and taking her straight to his apartment.

"Let's just go," she said, reading his mind.

He shook his head. "We already ordered." He stood up and moved his chair to the side so he could be closer to her. He placed a hand on her thigh and she leaned into him and tilted her head up to kiss him.

He was about ready to take her home when their food was delievered. She withdrew from him, "House! How much food did you order?"

It didn't look like a lot to him. The waiter set plates in front of him and he poured soy sauce for both of them. "How much wasabi do you like?" He said seductively.

She didn't pick up on it or she ignored him. "I'll get my own, thanks." She broke her chopsticks and picked up a small amount of the green putty without effort, stirring it into the soy sauce. "What should I eat first, Mr. Sushi Expert?"

"Tuna!" He picked it up, dunked it in her soy sauce, and held it to her lips.

She received the whole thing in her mouth, and chewed. He watched her reaction, but it was kind of hard to gauge with her mouthful of rice. He took a piece of tuna into his own mouth.

She swallowed. "I like it."

When he swallowed, he said, "I knew you liked your mouth full." He grabbed her jaw playfully and she laughed. "Now, _unagi_- eel."

"That looks gross." It was brown and the texture of the eel was obvious from looking at it, all scaly and rough. Most people thought it was gross at first, but she was no sushi-newbie so her reaction was surprising.

He grasped it with his chopsticks.

"I can do it." She beat him to it, feeding herself before he had a chance.

After swallowing the eel, she told him it was okay and finished off a few california rolls, more common to her palate. Slowly, they sampled yellowfin, salmon, and mackeral. He noticed her face beginning to turn red.

"You okay?"

"It's hot in here," she said, fanning her face.

He backed away from her, trying to give her more space and air. "You don't want to try the squid?" He held up a white, gummy looking thing.

"House." She stared at the table and set down her chopsticks. "I don't feel good. I think it's the fish."

"I feel fine." It couldn't be the fish, unless she was letting the experience of trying so many new things at once get to her.

"Just thinking about another bite of fish makes me..." She shuddered and grabbed his arm. "House. Where's the bathroom?"

"Are you okay?" He probably shouldn't have asked that, from the way she looked. Stark pale, with rosy cheeks. "Just behind the bar."

"Okay." She closed her eyes momentarily and then stood up and hurried to the bathroom.

He ate a bite of squid and thought about what she'd ate. It was possible she'd gotten a bad piece, but not likely. He'd already begun a differential in his head. It was likely that it was just a bug. He just had this feeling though...that it was something awful, something that if he didn't catch it soon, she would be gone before she was ever really his. It seemed like fate was really out for him. He wondered if it was part of his duties to go into the bathroom and make sure she was okay, but he decided to wait. With any luck, she'd be out soon.

She came back after a few minutes, looking better than she did, but still sweating. She sat down, pushing back her hair.

"Did you barf?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She drank her water, opened up her purse, and popped a piece of gum in her mouth. "No more sashimi for me though." She smiled at him.

And no sex for him, he thought. He wouldn't want her puking as he was about to orgasm. "Do you think you're sick?"

"I told you. It's just stress." She hugged her cold water to her chest, sipping it through her straw.

"It's not stress. You didn't get sick until you ate the fish." He stared at her, watched for more symptoms.

"I'm sure I'll be fine if we just wait it out." She squeezed his shoulder comfortingly and ran her hand down his arm to join with his.

He wasn't having it. "If we told our patients that, they'd all die." He motioned for the check. "Well, some of them."

"Sorry I ruined our first date." She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"It's not your fault." He pressed a kiss to her head, already planning to call his new team. Maybe they could be useful for something.

* * *

"New case." House rolled his whiteboard over to the table where his team sat, bright and early at 8am in the morning.

"Why are we here so early?" Chase complained.

"Because we have a new case." Actually, he'd dropped Cuddy off at 7 and just decided to stay. He'd tried diagnosing her himself but it was Cuddy and he couldn't think about anything but the fact that she could be dying and he couldn't help her. He thought that maybe the doctors she'd hired could actually come up with something to get him back on the right track. He started writing on the board. 'Nausea. Fatigue. Headache.'

"Is this a joke?" Foreman pointed to the board. "Those are the symptoms of almost every disease."

House didn't appreciate Foreman making light of him. "That is false. You're fired. " House sat down in a chair and leaned back. "So, what'd you think? This should be easy."

"Influenza." Cameron said. "Next case, please."

"No fever." House retorted. He knew the flu didn't necessarily come with a fever, but it didn't fit anyway. Her stomach aversion was only to fish and she hadn't experienced any chills or other symptoms of the sort.

"What's the patient's name? Where's the file?" Foreman questioned.

"You were fired," House reminded him. "More specifically, is there anything in raw fish that could cause this symptoms? Like some sort of allergy or poison?" He knew there had to be, but he couldn't think of any that would affect one person but not another.

"No more diagnoses until we know who the patient is, House," Cameron said.

Damn Foreman was putting ideas in their heads. "It's top-secret. Like for the CIA." House told them. They needed to stop asking questions, but he knew not telling them was just making them more curious. "Just tell me what it could be. I can't think straight."

"Because you are involved with the patient?" Cameron asked, suspicious. She wiped her brown bangs from her concerned eyes.

"Because I'm hungover because I got drunk on sake last night," he explained. He didn't really get drunk, but Cuddy had to drive him home, even though she was sick. The sake! He forgot. She'd only had a sip but..."Hey, is there such thing as a sake allergy? Go look it up."

"Sake and raw fish tend to go together," Foreman observed. "You were with the patient when he or she started getting sick."

"For the last time, you're fired." House hadn't been sure until this point, but now he knew that Foreman would be the idiot who was the most pain in his ass.

"Cuddy said you can't fire me." He had an unamused look on his face.

Using Cuddy against House? How dare he! House knew that he could get Cuddy to fire Foreman if he really wanted to. He had the power, being the world-renowned surgeon and all, and Foreman had to know that, "Cuddy will do whatever I tell her to."

"What was that?" Cuddy had just opened the door and looked pissed. She had one hand on her hip and she stared at House menacingly. "What are you guys talking about?"

"The CIA hired House to diagnose a patient with the flu," Foreman said, obviously not beliving the story.

"What?" Cuddy entered, intrigued, looking at House. He didn't know why she was in his office so early. Usually he didn't show up until ten and around noon she came around to retrieve him for clinic duty. With that, he figured he had at least four hours alone with his team to figure out what was wrong with her. It'd been abruptly cut short.

Cameron pointed to the board. "A patient with those symptoms. He won't tell us who it is."

Cuddy looked at the board and then stared at him again. "Oh." Her face remained emotionless. "I know what patient he's talking about." She strutted over to House. "I came in here to tell you that the patient is fine." She patted him on the chest.

"House ate sushi with the patient last night." Chase told her.

"What?" She raised up her hands as to grab his shirt or smack him in anger, but stopped. Her hands came down slowly to her side.

"They do not know that for sure." He pointed out. They couldn't prove that he was with Cuddy. "Anyway, it was relevant to the case."

"Dr. Cuddy, do something about this," Foreman pleaded. "This case is absurd."

"That case is closed." She slapped a manilla folder on their table. "New case."

Foreman opened up the folder. House grabbed it and threw it in the trash. "No. We're still on this case."

"It's not a case!" Foreman argued.

"House, quit it." Cuddy warned him.

"What's wrong with her?" House yelled, trying to overpower and scare everyone into focusing.

"Depression," Cameron suggested.

House glanced at Cuddy. She shook her head. "Nah, I don't think so. Try again." House shelved that diagnosis. It was possible, but such severe depression symptoms didn't seem likely.

"We need full disclosure, House," Chase begged of him. "We can't do this if you don't tell us more about the patient. We need a full history, availability to run tests..."

"This is your test. If you can solve this, you can stay on as my employee. I need you to be able to diagnose without seeing a patient." Hell, he did it all the time. He hated patients, preferred to avoid them.

"What do you want to know?" She paused and crossed her arms. "I've read her whole file."

She was finally playing along.

"It's a female, right?" Cameron asked. "She could be pregnant. Has she had sex? How old is she?"

"She's not pregnant." House and Cuddy both said at the same time.

"How do you know that?" Chase questioned.

Because she wasn't. That was the only explanation. She couldn't be pregnant. She was on the pill.

"Because she got her period a week ago," Cuddy said.

There was that too. "Yeah. She got her period." He'd forgotten. He'd found evidence in her trashcan earlier.

"It could still be horomonally related. Has she switched birth control recently?"

"No," House answered.

"Yes," Cuddy corrected him.

"What?" House asked. She should have told him. They should have been using condoms if she wasn't taking her birth control. "That wasn't in her file." He faced Cuddy and stepped in front of her, cutting her off from the rest of the team.

"The file that we haven't seen..." Foreman mentioned.

"Why would she switch birth controls?" House asked Cuddy. He didn't understand why she did it, and why he didn't know about it.

She stepped away from him so she could be seen again. "Because her old one gave her migranes and she'd just broken up with her boyfriend so she thought it would be a good time to switch." She explained to the whole room, not meeting his eyes.

"Did she?" He knew he had no reason to be angry, yet he was. She should have told him, he kept telling himself. At least they had a reasonable diagnosis.

"So it's just the birth control. Wonderful!" Foreman said sarcastically. He got up and fished the new case file out of the trash. "Onto a case that actually matters."

"Yes," Cuddy agreed. She distanced herself from House and made her way to the door. She motioned to the file. "Get to work." She held House's gaze for a little while longer, but no one else noticed.

House stared at her as she left, unsatisfied that he'd not found the answer.

* * *

House sat alone in his office in the afternoon, looking over the case file. It wasn't taking his mind off of Cuddy. He wondered if she'd gotten sick yet today. She seemed okay earlier, participating in the differential for herself.

Cameron opened his door and approached him. "Who was that patient, earlier?"

"Why? You have another idea?" He was interested.

Cameron didn't say anything at first. She touched the large bouncy ball on his desk. "Dr. Wilson brought Dr. Cuddy tuna fish for lunch. It made her throw up."

She knew. It didn't matter, he had to tell himself. Of course, he was screwed if Cuddy found out. "Good to know. I'll send her some Pepto Bismol." He still played indifferent. It didn't seem like Cameron would call the chairmen of the hospital about Cuddy's behavior.

"So when was the patient's last period? Before her most recent one."

He thought back. Maybe Cameron was going somewhere with this. "She didn't have one. She was on the pill."

"If she was on the pill, why'd she get her period again?"

"I really don't know. Maybe she'd let her cycle get back on track before she'd changed it." He didn't buy into the horomone diagnosis. It was feasible, but treatable and he had a feeling that she was hurting more than she was letting on.

"Spotting can occur during early pregnancy." She rolled his ball between her fingers on his desk. "You know that. You weren't thinking earlier. Foreman and Chase weren't thinking either. They just wanted to move to a new case so they slapped the first diagnosis they heard on her. You know she's pregnant. She needs an appointment with an OB."

"You really care about the patient?" She nodded. Crap, he thought. Cameron might be more of a headache than Foreman. She was trying to help, but not fruitfully. "She's not pregnant." They'd eliminated it. He was done with that diagnosis and not revisiting it.

"Was she bleeding early for her period?"

"I don't know!" She wasn't pregnant. He couldn't have gotten her pregnant. They'd barely had sex in the past few weeks.

"Tell her to take a test."

He was doubtful enough to agree.

* * *

House found himself in Cuddy's office again. He shut the door and began shutting all the blinds in reflex. "You said you switched birth control when we broke up or whatever."

"I know." She looked up. "I actually stopped taking it."

He sat down. "Why would you do that?"

"I was moving out. I wasn't going to be seeing anyone. I was going to switch but I needed to let my cycle get back on track." She thumbed through her planner.

"You're an idiot." He was becoming more and more convinced that she actually was pregnant, as much as he dreaded it. She was the one in denial. "We had sex."

"I'm sorry." She stood up and walked around her desk and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I got my period though. We're okay."

"It was spotting. You need to take a pregnancy test."

"I don't think I'm pregnant. But I'll take a test if it'll make you feel better." She slid in front of him and sat on her desk. He cupped behind her knees and pulled her forward."

"We're at work." She locked her legs and knees together.

"I just want to feel you up. I promise I'll be real fast." Before she could object, he brought his hand up and squeezed her boob.

"Ow." She pushed his hand off, and then looked at him pitifully.

He stood up and walked to the corner of the room. "Yeah, you're pregnant."

* * *

A/N: I know it's hard to buy that Cuddy AND House couldn't diagnose her pregnancy, but I hope it worked.

Um also, I made all the medical stuff up and I'm kind of paranoid about that so don't be too hard on me please.


	2. Transitional Theme

**House Rules**

Transitional Theme

"I don't need you here to help me pee on a stick," Cuddy told House. She sat on the toilet in his apartment and crossed her legs so he couldn't see her pee. It wasn't that she was embarrassed of her bodily functions, but rather nervous about the results of the test, and House watching her wasn't helping.

"No, but I have a very important job of opening the packages," He told her, ripping open another pregnancy test box and placing the stick on his sink so she could grab it when she was ready. She guessed that it was his way of staying present in the action. It was nice that he was involved, if only to be the first person to read the results of the test.

She finished with her first test and set in on his sink.

"Hey!" He moved it to the other side of the sink. "Finished go on this side!"

She winced in disgust. "You don't have to touch that." After hearing his numerous complaints of having to touch patients' urine, she didn't want to add to his annoyance since they were already in a stressful situation, and it was something she was perfectly capable of doing on her own.

Strangely, it didn't seem to bother him today. "I'm a doctor. I deal with pee daily." He opened another box. She guessed that this testing system he developed helped him focus on what he could control in their predicament. She was feeling overwhelmed at the possibility of having to deal with a baby, so she couldn't imagine how he felt.

There were five tests in all and she managed to pee on all of them before the first test was up. She stood up with him to watch the sticks, lined up in the order that she took them. "This could take a while."

"Only about five more minutes." His eyes were glued to the first one.

She sat down on the edge of his tub. "What are we going to do if I'm pregnant?"

"If?" His hands gripped the side of the sink. "There's no 'if' about it. You are definitely with child."

She'd known. She had an idea after she threw up at the restaurant, and when Cameron had mentioned it in the differential, she knew. But she didn't really want to deal with it, and now House was making her. She couldn't figure out just how he was taking the news. Despite claiming to know that she was pregnant, his reaction seemed to hinge on the result of the pregnancy test. "Then why are you watching that stick closer than you study my breasts?"

"First, I don't study your breasts that closely." Almost negating what he said, he lifted his eyes from the pregnancy test to stare at her chest. "Second," His eyes returned to the stick, "knowing my specialty, you could have something that looks _exactly _like pregnancy, but isn't. And if it isn't, it could be very dangerous. I'm just looking out for you."

There was something in the tone of his voice that suggested he wasn't. Ever since he'd felt her up in her office and became convinced that she was pregnant, he was back to his old self again- sarcasm, games, dishonesty. She knew he could be just weirded out by the sudden intimacy having a child with her would bring, so she ignored it momentarily. "If it looked exactly like pregnancy, the test would be positive, genius," she reminded him, holding the stick up.

"It is." He took the stick from her and examined it.

"What?"

"It is positive." He held it up to her.

They slowly watched the other four tests turn positive. Cuddy tossed them into the trash and wiped off House's sink. She waited for his reaction. He didn't seem pissed or sad or anything.

"We knew you were pregnant," He told her as they walked out of the bathroom to settle on the couch in his living room.

"Yeah," she leaned back and pressed her back against the couch. She held her hands to her stomach. It didn't feel like there was anything growing in there. Obviously, it was too soon to physically feel anything, but emotionally, she didn't feel like she was carrying a child. She couldn't quite comprehend that she had a potential to create another person inside of her.

"What are you going to do?" He laced his hands together and rested them on his stomach.

She'd hoped that he would just tell her what he wanted to do. It would relieve the pressure on her decision. If she made the wrong choice, she would feel perpetually guilty. If he decided incorrectly, she could always blame him, which was quite easier than feeling guilt. She told him, "I don't know." She wanted to continue to feel out his reaction.

"What's your instinct? Just off the top of your head."

Gut instinct meant she dropped obsessing over what he would want. She closed her eyes and zeroed in on how she was actually feeling. All she could think about was her job. How it would look if she got pregnant out of wedlock with her newly hired employees baby. "Get rid of it. Forget this ever happened." The second she said it, she wanted to be sick, and she regretted voicing her opinion. Actually, if she was going to start regretting, she'd take back going off her birth control at such an inopportune time, but Cuddy wasn't one to worry about things in the past that she couldn't change.

"Really?" He seemed stunned. His hands were still pressed into his own stomach, and she noticed that this was the longest time they'd been in the apartment together without touching each other.

"But I don't think I can," She took it back. This was why he needed to make the decision. "I'd be an awful mother. I don't deserve a baby for even thinking that."

"You could always give it up for adoption." He was speaking like the baby was only hers, like this was her problem and he was an outsider. Suddenly, she hated that he could just up and leave her. She hated that he had no physical tie to their child other than DNA. She was carrying it, and it'd be attached to her for 9 months, completely dependent on her. It was unfair.

"What do you want?" She finally asked.

"What do you mean?" He didn't even think she'd consider him.

"Do you want me to have this baby? Or terminate or give it up for adoption? It's half yours." She was giving him an out, giving him permission to ask her to get an abortion and she'd do it.

"Yeah." He took a few minutes to consider that. He put his forearm on the armrest next to him and traced the outline of the fabric of the couch. "I don't want to be a father." He laid his other hand in her lap. "I can't give you enough reasons why I shouldn't be someone's dad. But I told you I want you so there's a possibility that I could want your child too." He didn't sound too sure about that.

"Our child," She corrected him. He didn't even think of the baby as his child. She couldn't do this on her own. "Why did this have to happen now? I just need a few more years at my job." She needed to earn a bit more money to buy a house, and start saving for the kid's college. She'd always imagined she'd have a husband, a job that didn't require more than forty hours a week.

"Wishing for a better situation isn't going to help you now." He was trying to make her angry, and she figured it was because he blamed her. She knew it was her fault, going off the birth control, but they'd both gotten caught up that night that they'd had sex at the bar. He was so different than he was acting now.

She looked around his apartment and remembered all the past girls he had and the hurt she felt at his indifference. The sex was amazing, but they were just screwing around. They couldn't do that anymore. Not with a baby.

Maybe that's what was scaring him about her pregnancy. He was afraid they could never go back to the way things were. She didn't want to. "I hate it here. I hate knowing that I lived here and remembering all the crap that happened."

"You want me to move?" He sounded disbelieving, and he looked at her like she was crazy.

"Yeah."

"That's kind of insane." Maybe it was. Maybe she was expecting too much of him.

"Well, I'm kind of having your child so I thought I'd voice my opinion." She was sounding less and less convinced of her strength. Noticing her own weakness, her own fear, a thought crossed her mind- she needed him desperately. But she ignored it, so he couldn't disappoint her.

"So you're having it? Two seconds ago you wanted to terminate." He seemed mad, but more about her indecision than her desire to have the baby.

"No, I said abortion was my first instinct." She paused, knowing that he might freak out at what she was saying, "But having thought about it and not wanting to be selfish..."

"It is selfish." He stuck his thumb in his mouth and she watched him run his teeth under his nail in thought. "We have no time for a child. It'd be shipped off to boarding school and hate us for the rest of its life." He scooted back in his chair uncomfortably. "And what happened to my opinion?"

"I didn't hear one." Her fingers dug into the cushion of the couch between them.

He thought for a couple seconds. "I don't want it."

It hit her harder than she suspected, in her stomach, and she felt nauseous. She guessed he meant, 'I don't want you.' She held her hand close to him, almost touching him. "You said..."

"If you're so intent on being selfless, do you think it's a good idea to be dating a guy who may or may not want your child?" His hands went to his knees and gripped hard. She could tell he was struggling with his own insecurities, but he was playing with hers.

"His child?" She reminded him, again. "Yeah, actually that option's not looking so hot now."

"Did you ever sleep with Wilson?" He asked her without a smirk, so she knew he wasn't making fun of her.

"No. Why are you bringing that up now?" She thought maybe he was actually concerned that he was not the father. He knew that she hadn't slept with Wilson. He knew it, and he was just trying to anger her, sabotage their relationship so he didn't have to feel bad when he dumped her. "You'd better not..."

"I'm just saying, if you did, and you could pass it off as his kid, I think that'd be the better choice for all of us."

"I think you're being a fucking asshole." She realized how painful it was to be held at a distance from him this long, when all she wanted was for them to be together. "We just need to cool off. We can't be freaking out at the same time or else it's going to end badly."

"It's going to end badly regardless." He sunk into the corner of the couch, as far away from her as he could be without standing. He was falling into his self-loathing mood that made him see everything through a cloud of pessimism.

She needed to remind him of the good that they had. "What made you come back to me, in the bar?"

"Your ass." He glanced at her and smiled for a split-second.

She saw it. Maybe things were looking up. "Is that it?"

"You." He cupped her cheek and then dropped his hand. "I think I wasn't trying hard enough. I think I could have sex with someone else if I really tried."

She wanted to crawl up in her bed and cry. After everything, she didn't think he'd want to give up. But he was here and she couldn't shy away. "You really don't want to be with me anymore? Before we knew for sure...everything was fine. You wanted me. I still want you. Please don't give up because of this." She considered terminating just for the sake of being with him, if that was ultimatum. But she knew she couldn't do that. How sick and wrong of her. She didn't want to be with him if he was going to leave her any way.

"I can't believe this happened. I was ready for anything." He collapsed, hiding his face in his hands. "Except this. This is too much."

"I can't abort it." It terrified her to say it, but she knew it was the truth. "I would give it up for adoption, but I don't think I could stand knowing that someone else was raising our baby. Someone that we created with parts of us in him. Or her. Could you?"

His answer surprised her. "No." One of his hands dropped to the couch between them and just grazed her leg. "We need an impartial third party."

* * *

Wilson was surprised by the call. Ever since they all started work at PPTH, he hadn't spent much time with House outside of the hospital. It didn't surprise him that House called him so late, but the fact that Cuddy would be joining them was out of the ordinary.

He was curious as to what their relationship entailed currently. House had been rather evasive of the details when they'd had their occasional lunch together. If they were inviting him over as a couple, then they would have invited Sam as well.

But it was just him, he thought as started up the stairs to his old apartment. He knocked on the door. House answered, looking pretty solemn. Cuddy was just behind him, her hand around his upper arm. Her eyes were red- she looked like she'd been crying.

"Hey, what's going on? Is everything all right?" He stepped into the apartment. House and Cuddy went into the living room and sat, and he followed.

Before they'd even gotten comfortable, House told him, "Cuddy's pregnant."

Cuddy looked at him with disdain and covered her face with her hand.

"Seriously?" He didn't know what to say. He noticed that it didn't seem to be good news for them.

"Yep."

"Crazy odds. Out of all the women you slept with..." It was Cuddy, the one who'd almost driven them apart, the one who House had fallen for. His first instinct was trying to picture them with a baby. It didn't fit. House was still growing out of his rambunctious years and Cuddy was still enthralled with her job.

Having a kid would change everything. House was not ready to be a father and he wasn't sure if Cuddy wanted to be a mom. He'd assumed they'd discussed this.

"Yeah. We know." House and Cuddy were sitting next to each other but not touching each other. Cuddy had not said a word yet. House spoke again, "So what should we do?"

"What do you mean?" What other options did they have? "You need to find an OB, get an examination."

"You think we should have it?" House rested his elbows on his knees.

"Have it?" He looked at Cuddy, who finally looked up at him, her eyes watering. "You were going to abort?"

"I'm the youngest dean of medicine in history of the hospital. I need this job. I don't have time for a baby," She tried to justify.

"Wow." He hadn't even considered it. He couldn't believe that she had. Something like this, he would have expected out of House in his early years, but this was not like Cuddy or even House now. His relationship with Cuddy had matured him, even though he wouldn't want to admit it.

"You think that's a bad idea?" House said.

"Yes." It was a no-brainer. "The guilt would drive you insane. It would ruin your relationship, your lives..."

"Plenty of women have abortions and get over it," was House's excuse. It sounded insensitive to Cuddy, and he knew it. Wilson saw House's hand come up to rest on Cuddy's knee.

All of a sudden, their conversation had a weird feel to it. He was sitting across from them, as a separate entity, instead of three friends trying to figure something out. "Is this couple's therapy?" Wilson asked, in response.

"Something like that," Cuddy said. "We couldn't make a decision without fighting. We need you as a voice of reason."

A voice of reason? When House was in the room? The news of the pregnancy must have really screwed him up. "You guys don't want to abort...at least right away...trust me."

"Yeah, I just don't think I can do that," Cuddy said, looking at House.

"So, then, adoption?" House suggested.

"Why can't you just keep it?" Wilson wanted to know. They were responsible people. They could have a kid, and at least figure it out how to be parents on the way.

"Let's be honest, here." House separated himself from Cuddy again. "I would not make a good father."

"I think you could be," Cuddy spoke up.

House leaned away from her, in disbelief. "What the hell are you thinking? Don't deny what you know is the truth to pretend what you hope is real."

She turned toward him, facing him on the couch. "I'm not lying. Or crazy. I just think it could work."

"Sorry," He inched further away. "I can't be what you want me to. I don't want this."

"I can't do it on my own!" Cuddy started to tear up again.

"Okay!" They were making it very tense in the room and Wilson could see why they'd called him. "Just calm down, everyone. This is not the end of the world." He watched them relax and sink down back in their seats. "As unfortunate as this timing may be, Cuddy is carrying a child and you can't do anything to reverse that." He stared at House, "Don't you think you've waited long enough for her? You want her. More than you've wanted anybody else, and now you have her. Don't waste this."

House leaned back, so he rested against the couch.

"I will give you five minutes to think about what you want while I'm going to the bathroom and then I will be back and you will have made a decision," he decided for them. He stood up, and walked to the bathroom. He knew that House would fall for her as soon as he left the room.

Sure enough, when he stepped out of the bathroom after relieving his bladder, he found them making out heatedly on the couch. House was pulling her as close as she could get and she was scratching her fingers along his jaw.

"Typical," He said out loud.

They didn't hear him.

* * *

A/N: Next time, it'll be a little better. But, really, you knew this wasn't going to be easy. :)


	3. Secondary Theme

**House Rules**

Secondary Theme

* * *

She was so glad to be kissing him, finally. Two weeks without him had been insane, and she could tell he was feeling it too by the way his hands gripped her hips urgently.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Wilson leave, and heard him laughing. It reminded her that they weren't finished with their discussion. Nothing had been decided. She broke away from House to stop him.

House responded by grabbing her chin and kissing her again. He nipped at her bottom lip and she jumped and pulled back. She brought her legs up on the couch and scooted backward, until she hit the armrest on the other side of the couch.

She didn't know exactly why pulled back from him. She didn't want to be away from him, but she did want to take a few moments to think about what was happening. When he kissed her to begin with, it'd shocked her as much as it'd pleased her. She'd thought that maybe he'd be breaking up with her.

She watched him warily. He didn't look like he was going to break up with her. That gave her some comfort. His face overall was neutral, but his eyes…she couldn't stop staring….they were so dark and angry.

"Don't you try to run away from me," He said.

Yes, their discussion was finished.

He moved quickly to the other side of the couch and dragged her down to lay on it. She struggled against him in surprise, so he pinned her upper arms down with his forearms. He told her, "This is going to happen. There's nothing you can do." He started kissing her neck.

Why was he doing this? Did he need to exert some control over their predicament that they'd been tossed into? She thought on that for a moment, her upper body relaxing. It wasn't that she didn't want sex or that he was hurting her. She'd just been so used to fighting him.

He eased up, but let himself rest completely on her. It felt fantastic to bear his weight and she felt her body start responding to the fact that they were going to have sex soon. She tilted her pelvis up and moved it side to side.

"Someone's coming around," he remarked. He sat up. "We're wearing too many clothes."

She agreed. She was getting very hot. He sat up to kneel between her legs. "Take off your shirt."

It took him about a second to get his t-shirt off, and she was still working on the buttons of her shirt.

He watched her, "Say something."

She glanced up at him and sighed, and went back to work on her buttons. She didn't have anything to say. Not unless they were seriously going to talk.

"I mean it-" He started again. His forehead wrinkled in worry.

"What do you want me to say?" She cut him off, not looking up.

He laughed and ran his fingers through her hair, pulling back a few strands that had fallen in her face. "Good girl."

On instinct, she pushed his hand away. It surprised her that she could be this defiant. She wanted him, wanted to please him, but something told her that he would enjoy it if she pushed back a little.

"You hadn't said anything." He helped her up so she could remove her shirt. "I wanted to make sure you hadn't gone mute after all the jabbering you just did."

He had done all the talking with Wilson. She felt like she'd been reasonably quiet, and didn't appreciate him making fun of her. She knew the best way to get him back was to stay quiet. She leaned back to lie against the couch again, not saying a word, but smirking.

"Well," his voice shook in anger again, "if you can't say anything..." He took her hands and stretched them high over her head, "…you can't touch me." He hit her elbow lightly. "Keep 'em there."

She looked past him to the wall that his television was mounted on, refusing to meet his eyes. Any other couple would have had nice, loving sex when they'd found out that they'd had a child. Not House. He was mad, and he certainly wasn't going to fuck her nicely.

Yet he wasn't moving. Reluctantly, she looked into his eyes.

That seemed to be what he was waiting on. He placed his hands on her knees and skimmed them up her legs, taking her skirt with them. She had better range of her legs now and she spread them.

"Hold it," he said. He pulled on her panties. "Gotta take these off first." She closed her legs so he could pull them all the way down.

She didn't anticipate this to be fun. She was just annoyed with him, and she wasn't in the mood to have sex with someone who may or may not break up with her sometime soon. However, her body disagreed with her. He touched her between her legs, running his fingers up and down her opening. She was slick with wetness.

"Am I going to have to eat you out to get you to make a sound?" He smiled when he saw her eyes flicker with interest.

He started to make his way down but she moved her hands from up above her head and grabbed his shoulders.

"No?" He took her hands and laid down on her again. She could feel how he was exerting himself by the way his chest pressed against her every time he breathed. "I told you to keep these up here." He yanked her hands to just above her head so they wouldn't get so tired. "Now, what do you want?"

She didn't say anything, couldn't say anything. She thought it was the most effective way to scream at him.

"Fine. I'll make you talk." He moved back down her body, and again, she grabbed him. This time, she wrapped her hands around his armpits to pull him up.

"I told you not to touch me!" He slapped her on the side of her ass, hard. "Cuddy!"

She took a deep breath in and put her hands over her head, like he asked. She figured, if he was going to be this stubborn, they might as well just get it over with. She wasn't going to get any enjoyment out of it, and she knew that would be unsatisfying for him as well.

"You never listen to me," He said. He hovered over her, his lips on her stomach, and muttered something about trust. "You know what?" He pulled her thighs apart. "I am just going to fuck you."

She almost whimpered. It took all her strength to hold back. She wanted to want to have sex with him. She wanted to touch him.

He unbuttoned his jeans and pulled the zipper down. She watched him slowly, excitedly. If her mind and her body were in a war, the moment she saw his dick, she felt her body becoming victorious. She loved it. She loved the pleasure it brought her, and him. She wanted to make him come, and see his face of ecstasy.

She would just do it without talking.

He made his way back up to her, and kissed her lips. For some reason, he looked to her for permission. He'd never done that before, perhaps because she'd always given him vocal permission. She just looked away.

He pushed into her anyway. Again, she struggled not to gasp, biting on her lip.

The battle between her arousal and her anger continued. She couldn't believe that he knew something was wrong- she wasn't speaking to him, she didn't give him permission, yet he went ahead and did it. It infuriated her even more that he was just willing to ignore the problem.

He thrust into her again. She hadn't felt his cock in her for so long, and it was like being home. She missed the familiarity of it, how his skin rubbing against hers built her pleasure. She could feel the wetness leaking out and making a mess between her thighs.

But something was missing. His rhythm was off, and he wasn't holding her tightly.

And he wasn't kissing her.

In what seemed to be a renewed effort, he scooped his hips as he thrust into her. She fought hard not to moan, but she pressed her lips to his shoulder. "Ahh."

"No." He stopped moving and held her away from him. "This isn't right. You shouldn't be covering up those sexy noises. I need them to tell me what you want."

She didn't say anything. Her hands were still above her head.

"You can touch me." He brought her hands down. "Tell me what you want!" He grabbed her waist and shook her a little.

She rested her hands on his shoulders, and asked the question that was honestly driving her crazy. "Are you going to break up with me after this is over?" She said quickly and quietly. "Because if this is goodbye sex, this really sucks."

His mouth opened in shock. He looked down and stuttered. "I-" He touched her stomach. "No." He looked back up at her. "That's not what this is."

"This pregnancy sounded like a dealbreaker for you. So if you're leaving me after this, don't expect me to enjoy it."

He didn't say anything.

"Why are you having sex with me?" She asked.

"I thought it was normal for a man to have sex with the woman who's carrying his child."

It comforted her that he called it his child for once, but since when did House want to be normal? "You just wanted to get Wilson out of here before you dumped me..." It was a completely ridiculous reasoning, but she was looking for a rise out of him, since he hadn't really been responding to any of her other accusations.

"It's been two weeks! God, Cuddy!" He pulled at his own hair. "I'm sorry if I got a little fucked up because of the lack of sex, but that's not my fault."

She put her hands in his hair to find his and ease the tension.

He relaxed. "I just forgot what it was like to be with you. So, no, I'm not breaking up with you."

That was all she needed to hear. "Thank you," she whispered. She pushed on his head to kiss him. It was a sweet, comforting kiss as they cherished each other's lips.

"So, can we do this now?" He moved his hips.

"What are you doing?" She asked him, bringing her hands to her head, lifting her pelvis.

"Fucking you..." He said, confused.

It was obvious what he was doing, and she knew it. She just wanted to tease him a little. She pressed on the back of his neck until he ducked his head so she could whisper in his ear. "You're not really trying."

"I beg to differ. You weren't talking. I was doing my best." He kept moving into her in quick, shallow motions.

"You're not." She grabbed his shoulders.

"I'm sorry if I'm boring you." He pushed on the couch, as if he was going to pull out of her. He had a troubled look on his face.

"Hey." She tried to get his attention. She was just playing with him, but anything that had to do with sex, he took so seriously. "We've had sex on this couch before." She rubbed his upper back. "We've never had sex against it."

His response was quick and interested. "I'm game." His expression relaxed to neutral. He pulled out of her and stood.

She swung her legs over the couch and stood with him. She walked over to the armrest and bent over it. "Come on. Don't hold back."

He stared at her from behind. "Hi."

"Hi," she looked back at him, frustrated. She understood that it might have been an appealing visual, but he was just inside of her and she wanted her release as soon as possible. "Come. On."

"You have been very rude to me. I am not so inclined."

His grip on his dick spoke otherwise. "Yeah?" She spread her legs wider and ran a hand down her ass.

He came up behind her, and mimicked what she was doing with his own hand. She felt his cock against her. She backed up against him eagerly.

"Whoa." He put his arms around her and leaned forward, pressing his chest against her back. His hands reached around and stroked her inner thighs.

She stretched her arms out under her for his dick. She could barely grasp the tip and she fisted it lightly, trying to pull it toward her.

"Wait...you still bored?" He shoved two fingers into her.

She was wet from before, but without stimulation, she was not wet enough to be taken like that. It burned. "House!" She let go of his dick and grabbed onto the couch.

"Oh. Let's fix this." He pulled his fingers out of her and rubbed his thumb against her clit. He used his other hand to guide his dick to her pussy. He slid it along her. "Better?"

"Hmmm." She pushed on the armrest to inch her butt up a little so his dick pressed right against her. "Please. I'm ready now."

He let go of his cock but kept rubbing her. He wrapped his arm around her stomach and touched her breast. "I'll be gentle," he promised, meaning with her sore breasts. He brushed her nipple with the pads of his fingers, and continued to circle her clit.

"I'm ready!" She complained. She sunk her fingers into herself and pulled them out. "See?" She held them up to House to prove that she was wet and ready for him.

He let go of her breast and wrenched her arm back so he could suck on her fingers. She felt his tongue lick over her knuckles before he released her, saying, "Head down."

She pressed her head into the couch and stuck her ass in the air, waiting.

He stood up, not touching her. He reached down and spread her open so that he could thrust into her.

He didn't warn her at all. She felt nothing until he was filling her, completely in her. "House." It knocked the wind out of her. She reached in front of her stretching out and pushing her ass back.

Then she felt his hands on her hips and he lifted her. He pulled her off of his dick before slamming back into her.

She was on her tip toes and he was bearing most of her weight in his hands. She tried to move, but he was completely in control. She was so slick that he moved in and out of her with ease. She could feel the tip of his dick hit the spot she needed with every thrust. He hit it hard. "Ugh," she grunted. She felt his balls against the top of her thighs and his pubic hair against her ass. "You are so hot."

He laughed, panting. "You're pretty hot for a girl who got knocked up." He increased his pace so the instant he hit her, he was pulling back out.

She started clenching around him, trying to keep him in her for longer.

"Fuck me," He groaned at her.

She literally couldn't fuck him. He was doing everything. She bent her legs to twist around his, which meant he couldn't pull out as far.

He bent over again and wrapped his arm around her hips before resting them both back on the couch. She was starting to feel burned by the fabric on her body, but she didn't care. He pressed his arm into her right where his penis was digging into her from behind and it went straight to her clit. She bucked her hips off of the couch, squeezing him as tight as she could.

His forehead fell against her back and she could feel the sweat run off of him onto her. "Cuddy. Only you." He kissed her back.

His words made her shove herself back against him. He couldn't really go deeper but her ass brushed against his pelvis.

"I'm gonna come," He warned her. His arm that was around her slid so that he fingers could find her clit again. He rubbed relentlessly, but the lack of support made them fall forward on the couch. It was pretty uncomfortable and he couldn't thrust hardly at all, but it didn't matter. They were so close. He groaned loudly and came.

The feeling of his hot fluid flooding in her tipped her over the edge. Her scream mixed with his and they slumped off the couch, her on top of him.

They stayed like that for a while, catching their breath. She crawled up to him and kissed him. "Now look what you can do when you try."

"Yeah," he kept his eyes closed, "But I'm fucking beat."

She started to move off of him, thinking she was probably too heavy for him, but he locked his hands over her lower back.

"Let's get to a bed," she offered.

He let her off of him. She offered him her hand. "Let's go."

He took her hand but got up on his own. She took a minute to pull down her skirt and zip him up before leading him back into the bedroom.

* * *

Two weeks later, he came into her office with a packet of granola and yogurt.

She looked up from her paperwork, which she was gripping very tightly. "I am not eating that." She took a second to push her hair back. This pregnancy was making her absolutely miserable.

"Why not?" He placed it on her desk.

"I can't keep anything down." She knew she looked like hell. Her head hurt and she hadn't felt like doing anything for her appearance beyond the minimum. Her face was pale, she didn't cover up the circles under her eyes, and her lips were dry from all the vomiting.

"It helps the baby if you eat." He pushed it toward her.

"There's no point. You'll see it in my toilet if you come back in fifteen," She told him, and then looked at it and realized that he was actually trying so she took it and poured the granola into the yogurt.

He pulled a paper out of his pocket and made a note.

"What's that?" She asked as she dipped her spoon into the yogurt.

"You need four servings of dairy a day," He said.

She saw where this was going. "You're going to watch what I eat?"

"You don't get enough protein. You're anemic."

"That's because I'm a vegetarian. I'll take iron supplements. You don't have to count everything I eat." It was unnecessary and she wanted to eat without him scrutinizing everything.

"I don't want our baby to be born unhealthy." He tucked the paper back in his pocket. "I'll be back at lunch."

"House!"

It was too late. He was out the door.

* * *

"I hate this!" She announced to him, as he opened the door to her apartment. She was on the floor. Her head was buried in a trashcan, her face was red, and tears were streaming down her face.

"Are you ever going to stop throwing up?" He set the bag with their dinner down at the door.

"Get that out of here! I can smell it from here!" She breathed into the trash.

He placed it into the bathroom and shut the door. Then, he sat beside her.

She choked up the last of the pudding she ate earlier. "God. I don't even feel like I'm pregnant. I think I might have the flu or something. It's going to kill me."

"It's not going to kill you." He stood up and got her a wet napkin. "It'll be over soon. Once you get done throwing up, we'll have a baby's puke to clean up. I have a lot to look forward to in my life."

"I didn't ask you to come here and cheer me up," she said sarcastically. She wiped her mouth off, tied up the trash bag and tossed it outside so she wouldn't have to smell it.

"I can leave," He offered, meeting her at the door.

"No," she stopped him and pushed him back. "I didn't mean that. Just let me brush my teeth." She went into the bathroom and smelled the food. "Oh." She gagged, but then closed her mouth. She knew she didn't have anything left to throw up.

"Sorry! Forgot!" She heard from behind her.

"That's okay." She didn't want to complain again, afraid he'd leave. She held her breath, grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste and closed the door again. She went to the kitchen sink to brush her teeth.

He looked around her apartment and she knew he pitied her. It wasn't really that bad. It suited her just fine. She didn't need a lot of space. The kitchen and living room were all one room. She also had a bedroom and a bathroom. The whole thing was about the size of the living room in his apartment.

But the hospital paid for it, in addition to her salary, so she couldn't really complain.

House didn't think so. "We gotta get you out of here," he said.

"Ith fine," she said, with the toothpaste still in her mouth. She spit. "I'll buy a bigger place before the baby is born."

"Are we going to live together?" He asked, sitting down on the couch.

She threw the toothpaste and toothbrush in the sink. "Is this you asking me to move in with you?"

"This is me asking what going to happen," he said, quickly.

"I'm not moving back into that apartment," she clarified.

"Okay." He stood up and walked the few steps to her in the kitchen. He brought his hands up to cup her waist. "I think you're too skinny."

She ignored him, "We could get a new place."

"The OB's going to tell you to eat more." He kissed her on the cheek.

"And I will tell Dr. Brown that I can't keep anything down." She stroked his soft t-shirt.

"You picked Dr. Brown? I suppose he's adequate." He wrapped his arms around her.

She kissed his chest. "He's fine. Are you coming to the appointment?"

"Thursday? I suppose." His hand came up to her belly. "I want to see what kind of mutant this thing is."

"Yeah. He's torturing me." She covered his hand with hers and all she could feel was a empty stomach, gurgling.

"He? You think it's a boy now?"

She leaned against the kitched counter. "A girl wouldn't do this to me."

He laughed. "It's a boy."

* * *

"I am going to have to start wearing sweatshirts to work." Cuddy threw her another shirt on her bed.

"Just start wearing t-shirts." House was still in bed, cuddled up to a pillow.

"This bra doesn't even fit! It hurts!" She reached behind her and undid the clasp. "They hurt!" She touched her breasts, trying to soothe herself.

"I'm awake." House looked up and squinted at her. "I never knew pregnancy did this."

"What? Big boobs?" She crawled into bed with him.

"If you're trying to get to work, this is not the way to go," he warned her. "And I meant, pregnancy makes women like a hundred times hotter."

She looked at herself in the mirror on her closet door. She didn't feel hot or sexy. She knew her boobs were gigantic, but she felt like her thighs and ass had already expanded in size. "They make me look fatter than I actually am."

He didn't say anything to refute that. "I like them." He let his fingers skim over her chest and down to her waist.

"They hurt," she whined.

House brought his fingers back up to her breasts and drew circles on them.

"That feels better. Thank you." She relaxed on the bed. She closed her eyes. 'Five minutes,' she told herself. When she opened her eyes again, she'd snuggled up against him, and he was still rubbing her. It seemed he hadn't taken his eyes off of her breasts, from the little tent his erection made in the sheet.

She panicked for a second. "Work?"

"I told them you had a dentist appointment, and I have a protologist appointment. No one's going to bother me when we get back!" He smiled.

Normally, she would have been angry about not getting on time to work, but he was hot and she was horny so she let him off the hook.

* * *

When the Dr. Brown told Cuddy that her weight was fine, she was a little surprised. She was expected to be scolded for losing weight, as House had told her. She was relieved, but also a little disappointed. She'd thought that her nausea had been excessive. Even though she knew it came with pregnancy, she'd hadn't remembered hearing that it was so bad. It gave her hope that maybe she wasn't actually pregnant. Maybe she had a digestive problem, but the doctor dismissed all her self-diagnosed diseases.

"You're pregnant," he told her. "Your hCG levels are right where they should be. Let's get an ultrasound."

She lifted her shirt so he could put on the gel. "But I feel sick all the time."

"She's too skinny," House was still stuck on her weight.

Dr. Brown stopped what he was doing. "Okay. One thing at a time. Lisa, if a woman came to you in the clinc saying the exact same thing you're telling me. Five positive pregnancy tests. Bloodwork indicative of pregnancy. Nausea. What would you tell her?"

"I would...tell her to drink some pepto." He was right. Well, Cuddy was going to be a lot more empathetic to pregnant mothers. Nausea...it seemed so mild. There should be an entirely new word for what she was going through.

"Right. Drink lots of water. Can you eat anything?" He asked.

"She can eat toast. And pineapple," House chimed in. Cuddy glared at him, feeling like he wasn't helping her case.

"Then eat all of that you can," Dr. Brown said. "And her weight is fine where it's at now," he told House.

"That is bullshit."

Cuddy couldn't help but think the same thing. This doctor was supposed to be one of the best, and she felt like they were getting second rate advice.

"Cuddy has eight months to gain thirty pounds. Right now, your baby is less than a tenth of an inch long. She's doing fine. It can't be easy with all that morning sickness," He gestured to Cuddy.

Cuddy was starting to like Dr. Brown. "That's right. Except it's not just in the morning. It's the whole day." She looked at House. "And I'm not doing it on purpose. I wouldn't try to endanger our baby."

"You are in no way endangering your baby," Dr. Brown assured.

"Tenth of an inch," House laughed and looked down at Cuddy's stomach. "I can't seriously call it a baby at that size. It's a dot."

Dr. Brown took that as his cue to spread the gel on Cuddy. She waited patiently, watching the screen.

"It's a dot. Congratulations," Dr. Brown said, mocking House. He turned the screen towards them.

"There's nothing in there. I'm not pregnant," Cuddy said, trying to convince herself.

"All right. I'm glad you weren't an OB." House pulled the screen closer and pointed. "It's that thing that's attached to the side."

"Oh." She crossed her arms.

"Magical," House said.

Dr. Brown raised his eyebrow, "You kids excited?"

They both shrugged.

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

Sadly, this will likely be the last chapter for a while! I'm thinking months. :(

I will miss it. This is so much fun to write! But that means it will be just as easy to pick up again. :)


End file.
